Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/155/1 - 1915 - 1917 - Part 2

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11
go to ground to wait for
the barrage.  When this
barrage lifted our own
shell fire cd be seen
going on but / Germ.
shell fire seemed to remain
on this point & split the
attack.  The By this time
/ German had put a
curtain barrage in rear.
This ws striking / rear
waves & causing them to
move up & mix
w / forward waves. right
thro to the front waves thro the 4^th.
The waves had to be
organised The move
from here ws more or
less of a scramble in
one wave disorganised
by barrage & wire wh
ws well cut but wound
round / feet.  Thro' /
 

35
12
wire, abt 100 yds ahead,
they caught up to / wire / barrage
& reorganised.  This ws
a reorganisatn of all / men
round, as far as possible
into one wave, pract. forming
the 3rd wave.  One this
lift 3 distinct waves seemed
to get up.  This time heavy
L.E. 5.9 fire began to cause
casualties in 3rd wave -
the German barrage having
shortened to abt 100 yds
from his front line - (before
this further back it ws
shrapnel - wh in summer
is less bad than tt. E.)
By this time connectn
ws lost w left.  Sergt
Sturrock on left ws trying
to keep touch but it ws
dark & little cd be seen. 

35
13
From tt time the wire on nothing
ws seen o / left.  Thwaites
hit listening Sap at
U29A 20 65 [The left of
Bn sector wd be sap
further W. into wh Alderson
dug tt evg from left.]
Went straight up sap
to OG1.  OG1 had bn
cleared by advanced
waves.  Here gt difficulty
ws experienced in getting
out of O.G.1 wh ws
8-10 ft deep & 12 ft
wide & at this point only
fairly unbroken.
Some of pty went
overland to O.G.2; others
bombed under Serg Corpl
O'Neil up left of
two parallel C.T.s to
left of listening sap. 

14
There ws a long wait
behind / barrage between
O.G.1 & OG. 2 (part of men
in C.T. part on top) while
barrage ws on O.G. 2.
It lifted at 4.16

35
15
There ws German m.g.
fire from left but no
other oppositn.
Got into O.G.2
at U23c 30.30. The
Germans were struck
just round the next 3rd
bay of trench.  The
Germs had a pty in /
trench & others on each
side in shell holes.
At 4.20, 4 or 5 mins
after barrage moved
from O.G.2 (They had 100
yds to go from waiting
pt so this ws as soon
as they got into O.G.2)
The Germs. had evidently
got up from dugouts in
O.G.2 - 124 Wurtemburg
M.G. Coy with bombers
covering them - on the rt 

35
16
_^ of 22 Bn the 24 Bn had got in
 over / top before the
Germs. got up & / trench ws
cleared there.
Lt Braithwaite (22) &
Lt J. Jennings (21 Bn - k.
further later on in day) were
& Lt Gregg (22 Bn).
were ahead abt 2
bays up to left from
C.T. being bombed &
Ger attacking w bombs
quite as heavily.  Germs
had a bomb supply
in / sunken Rd - &
bombs were fed up
/ trench to the party
holding it.  (Later in
/ day Lt Hunt 21 Bn who
mopped up Sunken Rd
found a bomb dump
there suff. to last for / day)
 

35
17
Jennings (fingers of left hand blown off) & Braithwaite (wd in both arms)
were both wd by this
time but carried on -
B. fought for ½ hr after.
Here we were
using the Germ. "Speed-masher"
stick grenades.
We wd get a bay,
& then another, & then
lose one.  When we got
near to / road, going
uphill & / Germ. looking
down, we made two
stands, each over /
top of a dug out U23c 12 33
& U23c 05 33 wh
amounted practically
to Str. pts.  The first
ws carried under cover
of Stokes mortar (6 ALTMB)
under L/Cpl (offr k.)  A
Germ. m.g. & auto. rifle were 

18
Hand drawn diagram - see original

35
19
taken here.  The L.Gs
used to be used from
abt 18 yds in rear of
Hand drawn diagram - see original
bombers from corner
of the bay or a shell
hole just outside.
The second Str. pt
ws taken later (Cpl. O Neill 22 Bn
& Sergt Arblaster 21 Bn
bombing) but we were
driven out by pineapples
11 f & bombing from a str
pt right on beyond the junctn of
the road, the Germs lining
the road itself.  Our
stokes fired 4 shells
& evidently got the minenwerfer
w / second
bec. no more ws heard
of it.  xx A mixed
party of 20 men rushed
2nd Str post with rifle 

35
20
& hand grenades (this
ws first time Mills rifle
grenade ws used as no
adapters came up before).
Abt 4.50 - This time supplies
ran short & 2nd
str post ws lost agn
& a block ws made
at first str. post.
Abt 5.30 - i.e. 40
mins. after the block
made - a supply of
bombs arrd, rifle grenades
especially, - & the
trench ws taken to
junction of Sunken
Rd.  We now had
superiority over the
road & Gs. had to
retire beyond.  Abt
30 or 40 Germs. were
k. in this sector - mostly
 

35
21
in road where fighting
had bn stiff.  We only
got wd from dugouts.
Every dugout we struck
we bombed & left sentries
over them until things
quietened as men
cd not be spared to mop
up.  2 mills to each
entrance is eno' - &
sentry standing beyond
the doorway listening.  After
a while if anyone is
inside there is Merci
Kamerad - but in this
case some Huns remained
doggo in 24 Bn H.Q. dugout
till sure no c. attack wd
come.
Lt Hunt _^ 21 at this time
had entered the deep
Sunken Rd & cleared 

22
Hand drawn map - see original

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it to Junctn of O.G. 2
but had to retire wd.
Hunt crossed into
Rd abt where marked,
bombed dugouts, placed
his vic L.Gs on opposite
bank commanding German
Str. post at A.  This enabled
Str. post to be cut off
& kept a continuous
fire down / road.  The
A Vickers gun ws later
place across rd near
the L.Gs. firing up & down
/ road (6 m.g. Coy.
under Sergt Hitchcock
now Lt.)  This gun
ws later brought back
to about B where it
had a good command
of front & flank.  The
L.G.s were left all day, &